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X Man: The Elon Musk Origin Story

Elon Musk wants to shape our future. How did science fiction shape him?

Radio 4,9 episodes

Episodes

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Introducing X Man: The Elon Musk Origin Story
Elon Musk wants to shape our future. How did science fiction shape him?
04 Feb 2025,2 mins
1. The Dark Knight
What can the history of Batman tell us about Elon Musk?
11 Feb 2025,29 mins
2. Dimension X
How did Musk’s childhood shape the ideas of ‘Muskism’?
25 Feb 2025,28 mins
3. Planet B
What led to Musk’s obsession with existential catastrophism and colonising Mars?
04 Mar 2025,28 mins
4. Iron Man
How Silicon Valley capitalism is as much about storytelling as the bottom line.
11 Mar 2025,28 mins
5. The Dogefather
Jill Lepore traces Silicon Valley's cryptocurrency craze to dystopian science fiction.
18 Mar 2025,28 mins
6. Baby X
Which science fiction stories are left out of Silicon Valley futurism?
25 Mar 2025,28 mins
8. The Terminator
Musk fears a “Terminator future”, where robots destroy humans. So why is he creating AI?
11 Mar 2025,28 mins
7. Body Snatchers
What the Cold War brainwashing panic tells us about Musk’s fear of a 'woke mind virus'.
01 Apr 2025,28 mins